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Several of Keep Gilmer Beautiful’s Adopt-a-Road volunteers recently attended a luncheon where volunteers who’ve been cleaning their stretch of road for five or more years were recognized.
A $2,500 grant will help Keep Gilmer Beautiful continue promoting and supplying tools for recycling in the local community.
The local beautification group was recently awarded a Sandra Webb Legacy Grant from the Keep Georgia Beautiful Foundation, which oversees more than 70 city and county affiliate groups. Keep Gilmer Beautiful is among those regional affiliates.
This is the first year the grants, which honor the memory of Sandra Webb — a Keep Madison County Beautiful founder who spent more than three decades championing environmental initiatives — have been distributed, noted Ashley McGowan, Keep Gilmer Beautiful co-chair. The grants, made possible by Webb’s family, benefit projects that address sustainability needs.
“We all benefit from living in cleaner, greener spaces, and it’s an honor to be able to collaborate with the Webb family on this endeavor. Their generosity provides us with the resources we need to continue to improve communities across the state,” said Natalie Johnston-Russell, executive director of the Keep Georgia Beautiful Foundation.
Keep Gilmer Beautiful will use the grant funding for new recycling bins that will be put to use in its Loaner Recycling Bin Program. Through that program, recycling bins are provided at events held in Gilmer County on a first-come, first-served basis, noted McGowan.
“We are honored to receive this grant. It will help us with our continued efforts to make Gilmer as green as possible,” she added.
The Georgia Apple Festival is among the local events at which the bins have been used to collect recyclables that would, otherwise, wind up in trash cans.
“We’re hopeful about using the bins at such (future) events as the Apple Festival, Taste of Ellijay, Arts in the Park and the county fair. We will substantially reduce the amount of recyclable materials that end up in the landfill,” McGowan said.
Keep Gilmer Beautiful also recently hosted its first Adopt-A-Road luncheon for those who volunteer to pick up litter along local roadways. Roads can be adopted and maintained by organizations, individuals, churches and others.
During the luncheon, held at the George Link Jr. Gilmer Arts Playhouse, Keep Gilmer Beautiful also recognized Adopt-a-Road volunteers who’ve been cleaning their adopted stretches of road for five or more years.
“The luncheon created a sense of camaraderie amongst the Adopt-a-Road volunteers and served as an opportunity to connect with each other,” McGowan said.
There are currently 65 road “adoptees” who regularly pick up trash along their selected routes, but there’s always a need for more, McGowan noted.
“It’s our intent to encourage additional community members, businesses and civic organizations to adopt roads to clean up near their home or place of work,” she said.